Nationality American Indian Role Social Worker Name Amanda Blackhorse | Years active 2010–present Ethnicity Dine | |
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Full Name Amanda Leeh Blackhorse Occupation Social WorkerJournalistActivist Organization Arizona to Rally Against Native American Mascots Known for Protesting Washington Redskins name controversy and successfully stripping aforementioned sports team of trademarks surrounding said derogatory team name Alma mater Similar People Suzan Shown Harjo, Daniel Snyder, Gerald Bruce Lee, Arthur Raymond Halbritter | ||
Amanda blackhorse seeing red skins
Amanda Blackhorse is a social worker and member of the Navajo people who is known for her work as an activist on the Washington Redskins name controversy. She is the lead plaintiff in Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc.
Contents
- Amanda blackhorse seeing red skins
- Amanda blackhorse why native american nicknames need to change
- Biography
- Blackhorse v Pro Football Inc
- References
Amanda blackhorse why native american nicknames need to change
Biography
As of 2014, Blackhorse is a psychiatric social worker on the Navajo Reservation, where she grew up. She has also worked at Arizona State Hospital.
While a student at the University of Kansas, she attended a game between the Washington Redskins and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium and reported:
At an NFL game in Kansas City, "people yelled, 'Go back to your reservation!' 'We won, you lost, get over it!' 'Go get drunk!' And so many different slurs … I've experienced racism in my lifetime, but to see it outwardly, and nobody did anything?"
Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc.
Blackhorse is the lead plaintiff in Blackhorse v. Pro-Football, Inc., which seeks to revoke trademark protection of the term "Washington Redskins". The USPTO rejected an application to register "Redskins Hog Rinds" because it "consists of or includes matter which may disparage or bring into contempt or disrepute persons, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols". Since 1992, the USPTO has rejected eleven applications for other trademarks that included the word redskins, based on the same reasons. Some of the applications were made by Pro-Football, Inc., including "Washington Redskins Cheerleaders".
On June 18, 2014, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) voted to cancel the six trademarks held by the team in a two to one decision that held that the term "redskins" is disparaging to a "substantial composite of Native Americans", and this is demonstrated "by the near complete drop-off in usage of 'redskins' as a reference to Native Americans beginning in the 1960s." In a press release the trademark attorney for the team stated that they were confident that they would once again prevail on appeal, and that today's decision will make no difference in the continued use of the Redskins name.
Plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse said in an interview, "We’ve been through this process for eight years now. We will continue to fight. And, you know, this is not the end for us."
In June 2017 the Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the trademark law barring disparaging names was an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech. That case (In Re Tam) involved the denial of a trademark for an Asian-American rock band, "The Slants". Both the Native American petitioners and the Justice Department have withdrawn from any further litigation now that the Supreme Court has rendered the legal issue moot. Blackhorse called the decision disheartening after 11 years of litigation. While it may be legal for the team to use the name, she said, that doesn’t make it right.